“None.”
“That’s what I thought.” When Mandy protested loudly, Heather spooned another bite of cereal into her mouth. “You don’t have the slightest idea what to do with a baby.”
His frown deepened. “I’ve got to start somewhere.”
“My daughter isn’t an experiment.”
“She’s our daughter.” He placed his hand on top of hers. “I know you’re worried I won’t know what to do. But I promise, I’d never let anything hurt her.”
She could tell from the sincerity in his voice and the look in his eyes that he meant every word he said. But he admittedly had zero experience with babies.
“I won’t let her out of my sight the entire time you’re away,” he promised.
“Jake, I’m not at all comfortable with—”
“I’ll even stay in the same room with her while she takes her nap,” he interrupted.
“Have you ever changed a diaper?”
“No, but it can’t be that hard to figure out. Besides, I’m a quick study,” he said confidently. “You can show me how to put a new one on her before you leave.”
She barely managed to hide a smile at his misguided self-assurance. He had no way of knowing that their daughter thought diaper changes were great fun and the perfect time to exercise her legs by kicking like a little karate champion.
“What about lunch?” she asked, beginning to realize she didn’t have any other option. She couldn’t get out of the meeting and it was no place for a baby. “Do you think you’ll be able to feed her?”
“I watched you feed her breakfast and it didn’t look all that difficult.” He grinned. “Piece of cake.”
Spooning the last bit of cereal into her daughter’s mouth, Heather wiped the baby’s face. “You’ll call me if you have even the slightest problem?”
“Of course.”
She lifted Mandy from the high chair and handed her to him. “Would you mind holding her while I wipe off the high chair and put it away?”
Jake had been too busy yesterday with the unauthorized moving of her things from the guesthouse to do more than watch her or Clara with the baby. It was time that father and daughter met officially. Besides, she needed to see how Jake was with Mandy before she agreed to him watching the baby.
He gently lifted Mandy to sit on his arm. “Hey there, Honey Bunny. I’m your daddy.”
As Heather watched, the baby gazed at him intently for several seconds, then giggling, happily slapped her tiny hand against his cheek. But it was the look of awe and complete wonder that instantly came over Jake’s handsome face that had her blinking back a wave of tears.
She wouldn’t have believed it was possible to actually see it happen. But right before her eyes, Jake fell hopelessly in love with their daughter.
Chapter 4
When Heather returned from her meeting, she practically burst through the back door of the mansion. She’d tried several times on her drive from the Downs to call Jake on her cell phone, but he hadn’t answered and with each passing second her concern increased. Searching the rooms downstairs, her heart began to pound hard against her ribs when she couldn’t find either of them. Why had she let him talk her into allowing him to watch her baby?
But her anxiety turned to mind-numbing fear when she hurried up the staircase and entered the bedroom where Jake had set up the crib. The two were nowhere in sight.
In a near panic, she raced down the hall to the master suite. “If he’s let something happen, I’ll never forgive…”
Her voice trailed off as she came to a skidding halt just inside the suite door and a knee-weakening relief washed over her. There in the middle of the king-size bed her daughter lay curled up on top of Jake. Both were out like a couple of lights.
Leaning against the door facing, her panic began to recede and as she stood there catching her breath, she couldn’t help but be touched by the moment. Heather knew for certain she’d never forget the poignant sight of her tiny baby girl sleeping so trustingly on her daddy’s wide bare chest. For the second time in a matter of a few hours, she found herself blinking back tears.
Quietly, so as not to disturb either of them, she gently lifted Mandy into her arms and, walking back to the bedroom where the crib was, placed the baby in the small bed. Turning on the monitor, she clipped the receiving unit to the waistband of her khakis and turning to leave, came face-to-face with a wild-eyed Jake.
“Dear God, Heather, why didn’t you wake me up to let me know you were taking Mandy?” he demanded. “When I opened my eyes and she wasn’t there, I—”
Heather placed her index finger to his lips to silence him when the baby moved restlessly and let out a little whimper. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed. She motioned for him to follow her out into the hall. “You looked like you might be a little tired from babysitting and I thought I’d—”
“Give me a heart attack,” he finished for her.
That’s when she realized that he’d been as terrified as she had when she’d been unable to find them. “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Running a frustrated hand through his thick black hair, he took a deep breath. “I’ve never been that scared in my entire life.”
As they stood there, she couldn’t help but stare at his bare chest. Every muscle was well-defined and as her gaze drifted lower, she had an almost uncontrollable urge to reach out and trace her fingers over each one of the ridges on his abdomen.
“W-what happened to your shirt?” she asked instead.
“Oh, that.” He frowned. “Do you know how disgusting baby food spinach looks? And dear God, it smells even worse. But when it gets on clothes, it’s just plain nasty.”
She laughed. “It is pretty gross, isn’t it?”
“It’s horrible.” He made a face. “I thought I was going to lose it a couple of times when Mandy decided to take a handful and rub it in her hair.”
Heather couldn’t stop laughing. “Don’t tell me. You set the dish too close to the high chair.”
Nodding, he chuckled. “By the time lunch was over, she had more food on her than in her. And I’m positive our daughter could hold her own in a frat house food fight.”
“No doubt about it,” she agreed, smiling. “Any other problems? How did the diaper changes go?”
“When I finally got her to hold still it went all right. Up until then, it was a little hazardous.” He rubbed his flat stomach. “She’s got a hell of a kick.” His expression turned serious and he fell silent a moment before reaching up to touch her cheek. “Thank you, Heather.”
The back of his knuckles stroking her skin sent a shaft of longing all the way to her toes. “W-what for?”
“For today.” His voice took on a husky quality that stole her breath. “For giving me the chance to get to know my daughter.”
Without a second thought, she closed her eyes and leaned into his tender touch. She might have been able to resist had it not been for the sincerity in his tone and the genuine gratefulness in his amazing blue eyes. But no matter how much she tried to fight it, he was the man who had stolen her heart all those months ago and given her a precious baby daughter.
“I want to kiss you, Heather.”
His whisper made her feel